An external panel appointed by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has recommended that the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) pay ₹18 billion ($192.5 million) to settle pending legal disputes. This recommendation is crucial as it brings NSE closer to resolving long-standing allegations of governance lapses and failure to provide equitable access to trading members, which have delayed its initial public offering (IPO) for nearly a decade. The amount suggested by the panel is greater than the ₹13 billion that NSE had previously set aside for settling these disputes. SEBI is expected to issue a demand letter for the payment soon, which would allow NSE to finalize the settlement. Following this, NSE is poised to file for its IPO, having appointed 20 banks to manage the process, marking the largest number of banks involved in any public issue in India to date. The exchange, which is the largest bourse in India and has around 190,000 investors, is expected to file for its IPO by late next month after announcing its financial results.